![]() She also likes the idea of keeping the machines out of the crib because closer noises sound louder to the developing auditory system.Īn infant’s ear canal is smaller than an adult’s, so in babies higher-frequency sounds are amplified, the study said. Her bottom line: The issue with the machines is how loud they are, not the amount of time they are used. There just hasn’t been a lot of research into this question of what effect these infant noise machines have, says Patti Martin, director of audiology and speech pathology at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The safety and care of children is JPMA’s highest priority.” The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, a trade organization representing manufacturers of 95% of prenatal to preschool products, responded to the study in a statement: “JPMA encourages parents to follow manufacturer guidance and instructions, and to use products as designed and intended. Papsin and colleagues were not able to give an estimate of how those risks would weigh against the benefits of the noise devices, either. Karp points out the Pediatrics study did not directly address this question with data, nor does it give an overall assessment of risk. Harvey Karp: Sleeping babies and kids make happy parents Papsin stands by the opposite recommendation in the study, saying that using infant sleep machines over eight-hour stretches is not supported by scientific evidence.ĭr. “The white noise is there as a continual presence, just like a teddy bear,” Karp said. Karp instead recommends keeping the noise going for the entire duration of sleep, because otherwise the baby will have more disturbances in the middle of the night. Concretely, parents should look to make these machines as loud as “a soft shower,” he said, and keep them at least a foot (30 centimeters) away from the child’s head.īut as far as only using an infant sleep machine for a short time, that recommendation is misinformed and is” not supported by the data in the study,” he said. It’s true that intensity of sound is important to consider, he said. Harvey Karp, pediatrician and author of books including “The Happiest Baby on the Block” and “The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep,” says he has concerns about some of the study’s conclusions. The machines should be played at a low volume and for a short time, study authors say.īut wait a minute! Don’t we want unwanted noises blocked from infants’ ears all night long?ĭr. They also recommend families place these infant sound machines as far away as possible from the infant – never on the crib rail or in the crib, the study said. The study authors recommend manufacturers be required to limit maximum sound output levels of such machines, print warnings about noise-induced hearing loss on the packaging and include a timer that would shut the device off after a given period. Additionally, if these sound devices were played continuously for an eight-hour period, the researchers wrote, “infants would be exposed to sound pressure levels that exceed occupational noise limits” for that time period for adults. Three of the infant sleep machines in this study had outputs greater than 85 decibels, which exceeds that recommendation. occupational health and safety authorities have recommended a workplace limit of 85 decibels over eight hours for adults. Hospital nurseries and neonatal intensive care units have set a noise equivalent of 50 decibels on average over the course of an hour, according to the study. Hands-off approaches OK for sleepless infants, study says ![]() These machines play a total of 65 different sounds, including white noise, “nature” sounds, mechanical sounds and heartbeat sounds. The particular machines are not named in the study, but researchers said they are “widely available in the United States and Canada.” Papsin declined to reveal which products were used. The 30-centimeter measurement resembles a typical distance from a baby’s head to the crib rail 100 centimeters would be near a crib and 200 centimeters would be across the room from a crib. Researchers tested 14 infant sleep machines at maximum volume, analyzing the noise level production from distances of 30, 100 and 200 centimeters. Blake Papsin, who is affiliated with the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. ![]() “These machines are capable of delivering enough of a dose over a period of time to theoretically cause hearing loss, but that’s not been tested,” said the study’s senior author Dr. Experts disagree on what recommendations should be given on using these machines. However, it’s important to note that the goal of the study was to measure the maximum effective output levels – not to observe direct effects on children. ![]()
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